Cristabel fidgeted in her seat, chewing her lip. Her shoulders were hunched over, her head down, and she really wanted to shrink into herself and disappear. The large duffel bag she had saved up to buy a few homes ago sat on the floor next to her, and she was at least glad to have her guitar hidden in there. No one had found it yet. Her songbook as tucked away at the bottom of the backpack in her lap. The man sitting next to her was trying to take her in. It wasn't anything she wasn't used to. The issue was that she was too used to it. She knew how she would end. They'd realize how not normal she was, and send her back, and she'd be shuffled around again. But maybe- nope. The chance of staying was slim.
Isabelle Santiago, the social worker who dealt with Cristabel most often, tapped her pen against the desk as she slid the last piece of paperwork across the table for Mr. Jones to sign. He did so eagerly, eyes flicking over to the girl and then back to Mrs. Santiago. He seemed so excited to take her in, though a glance out the window proved that the entire family wasn't too happy. His daughter stormed through the hall, looking like she'd seen the devil and put him firmly in his place. She laughed and turned back to the two in her office, picking up the forms and filing them away. "That's all I need from you two. Have a good one, Mr. Jones. And… Crissy? Stay out of trouble."
Crissy nodded softly, picking at a loose thread on her sweater , swinging her backpack over her shoulder and fixing her skirt as she stood before grabbing her duffel bag. "Yes, Ms. Santiago." She said, voice monotone. She saw the man leave the office. "Until next time." She said to Ms. Santiago before following him out.
Isabelle nodded at the girl as she left, already deciding those people wouldn't last a week with Crissy. She'd be back within the month.
Mr. Jones led her out into the hall where Ophelia was still pacing, setting a hand on his daughter's shoulder to try and calm her down. She slapped his hand away, glaring at the new girl. She hadn't dressed up the way her father had, clad in an old pair of sweatpants and a sweater that used to belong to her mother. It was a subtle reminder to her dad that they had a family and didn't need a new one. Her dad didn't seem fazed. "Cristabel, this is my daughter Lia."
Ophelia grimaced. "My friends call me Lia. You can call me Ophelia."
"Hi." Crissy said softly, still looking down. One person already hates me. Yep. End of next week at the latest. She chewed her lip again, not sure how to start any conversation. She stood behind the man slightly, just so she could see everyone. They're gonna send me back anyway. Should I bother with a conversation?
"Play nice, Lia. Cristabel is going to be living with us for the foreseeable future and I expect you to be nice." Lia glared at him with a huff but he gave her a stern look and she sighed.
"Fine. Sorry… Cristabel. It's so lovely to have you here." She picked up her phone off one of the hard plastic chairs and sighed. "Dad, it's 5:15. Your shift starts in 20 minutes." Her dad winced picking up his own phone to verify before he offered both girls apologetic looks.
"I'm sorry, ladies, I have to go. Ophelia, could you drive her home?" Ophelia grimaced but nodded and he brightened. "Good! I'll see you when I get home." He pecked his daughter on the cheek, offered Cristabel one last smile, and left in a hurry.
Crissy glanced up softly, picking at the end of her skirt again. The doodles she had done on the toes of her sneakers seemed to have started to wear away. She'd have to fix that. "Um… hello…." She said quietly, feeling very awkward. Wait. I said hi already. Damn it. Now I look stupid. Damn it.
Ophelia looked at her like she was a particularly nasty cockroach before she sighed, rubbed the top of her nose to stave off a headache, and dropped some of the hatred. She wasn't being fair, she was just… pissed. "Hi, sorry about dad. He's… well, he's how he's always been. Busy."
Crissy nodded. "It's fine." She said, voice quiet. I've dealt with worse. "So, um…" She fidgeted slightly. Nope nope nope nope socializing bad nope nope nope nope- She fixed her grip on the duffel bag, cringing at herself.
Ophelia raised an eyebrow, clicking off her phone and sliding it into her pocket. This chick was weird. Still, Ophelia'd always been friends with the weird kids. She was probably just nervous "Look, I know I can be kind of a bitch, but I'm not gonna bite your head of just for talking to me."
"Sorry…" She mumbled, still looking down. Nope nope nope- "I'm, um, not good at conversation…" She muttered, playing with the strap of her backpack.
Ophelia sighed and nodded, wishing she didn't understand so she had an excuse to get mad. "It's fine, nobody ever is." She started walking down the hall, gesturing for Crissy to follow. "Can I take your bag? That's gotta be heavy."
Crissy followed her, shaking her head. "It's fine, I've got it." And I don't want you to find my guitar because you already don't like me and not a lot of people like it-
"C'mon, let me help out." Ophelia pushed the doors at the end of the hall open and held it while Crissy walked through. "It's the least I can do for my new…" her lip curled. "Housemate."
"I-it's fine, I've got it, really." She said quickly, looking up a bit. Please just leave it alone-
Ophelia sighed but she left the bag alone. Instead, she reached into her pocket and unlocked the car, hurrying over. "Fine, fine, keep 'em. You're getting one of the… um…" A lump rose up in her throat but she forced it down. They weren't her sisters' rooms. Not anymore. "You're getting one of the spare rooms once we get them furnished but you'll be in mine for a couple weeks."
Crissy nodded. "Thank you…" She said softly. No guitar for a couple weeks.. oh well. She opened the door, putting the duffel bag on the floor and sitting down, backpack in her lap again. She sat awkwardly, chewing her lip again.
"For what? We weren't just gonna make you sleep on the floor." Ophelia started the car, pulling out of the parking lot and starting the drive home. "And stop doing that! Fill the silence with something, I don't give a shit what it is."
"Sorry." She mumbled again. "I, um, don't have anything to talk about, though. Sorry." She glanced up, looking out the window as the building disappeared from view yet again.
Ophelia sighed. "Nevermind, there is one thing you can't fill the silence with, and that's apologies. You've got nothing to be sorry for, just pick a topic and run with it. Reality TV to bad acid trips to those old spice commercials, I've heard it all."
"…Who the heck told you about about a bad acid trip?" She asked, giving her a confused look. Who the heck does she hang out with?
"Like half of my friends." Ophelia kept her eyes on the road, carefully signaling her turn before she slipped into the other lane and left the highway fro Gettysburg Avenue. "Of course, I think Jesabell's lying, but you can never tell with that girl."
"Okaaayyyy then…" She mumbled. "I'm gonna guess Jesabell lies a lot?" She asked. Wait that sounded really rude no- "I-I mean-!"
Ophelia laughed, low and loud and surprisingly musical. "Now that's what I'm talking about! Be real with me, Cristabel. And… It's fine." She seemed to mature in the space of a few seconds, going from laughing teen to exhausted adult. "Jezzy has a problem. It's compulsive but she never takes her meds"
"Oh." Crissy said, not knowing how to respond. "That… sucks." She said, playing with her fingers a bit. They were calloused, but she kept the palms facing away from Ophelia as best as she could.
